Part 6 (1/2)
But the man only muttered some more of the unintelligible gibberish jumbled around the word ”Shark.” Officer Clancy jerked him to his feet, and he stood leaning weakly against the policeman.
”I better take him along to the station,” the latter suggested. ”He hasn't done any harm, has he? Maybe he was taken sick as he was pa.s.sing by, and came in to get help,” he suggested eagerly.
”He's got a lump as big as an egg on the back of his head,” declared Mr.
Bill. ”Looks to me as if somebody had blackjacked him!”
”That so?” Officer Clancy looked at the head whose black thatch was unlike any hair he had ever seen before. ”There is a lump there! I expect that was it, Mrs. Gilfooly. Somebody slugged him, and he crawled up on your porch and fainted. And I bet I saw the guy that did it! I pa.s.sed a queer-looking chap not ten minutes ago. He was dark like this fellow, and his hair was frizzed for fair, and he was in his bare feet.
He was walking fast and looking straight ahead of him. I remember I thought he was a fine figure of fun. I never saw anybody just like him.”
”Could it have been Ka-kee-ta?” Tessie asked Mr. Bill in a frightened whisper. ”He was in his bare feet.” She s.h.i.+vered.
”Ka--oh, the chap Mr. Marvin spoke about. I wonder!” And Mr. Bill looked at Tessie.
Clancy's sharp ears heard their whispers. ”Friend of yours?” he asked quickly.
”No, not a friend,” Mr. Bill answered just as quickly. ”Just a messenger of some sort. I think you're right, Officer, you better take this man away.”
”I'll take him to the station until his mind clears up and he can tell us how it was. You can drive us over.” He nodded to Mr. Bill.
”I would be glad to.” But Mr. Bill sounded anything but glad. ”Only I hate to leave Mrs. Gilfooly and Miss Gilfooly here alone.”
”I guess I'm here!” shouted the insulted Boy Scout. ”I guess I know what to do if anything happens!”
”There won't anything happen,” promised Clancy. ”It's happened. And I'll have the sergeant send a man right over to keep an eye out. I'm sure glad to hear of your luck, Miss Gilfooly.” He turned to Tessie and solemnly shook her hand. ”You'll make a fine queen!”
”I don't know as I want to be a queen if it means finding strange men fainting on our front porch,” Tessie murmured almost tearfully.
”Perhaps I'd better stay,” suggested Mr. Bill, as he saw how she trembled. ”I can sit downstairs and read your books.”
”You need your rest as well as we do if you're going to be any help to your pa to-morrow,” objected Granny. ”We'll be all right with Johnny and the man Officer Clancy sends up. You take that stranger to the station, Mr. Clancy, and lock him up tight. I'll bet he knows more than he's letting on.” She peered into the dark face. ”Thank the good Lord tattooed noses ain't fas.h.i.+onable in Waloo,” she murmured. ”Tessie, you ought to go to bed. There's Joe Cary!” She stopped as she heard a whistle up the street. ”Joe! Joe Cary!” she called.
”Here!” answered Joe. ”What's up?” he demanded as he came up the walk.
”You can run along,” he told Mr. Bill and Officer Clancy, when he heard the story. ”I'll look after things here.” When Mr. Bill had reluctantly said good night, holding Tessie's fingers until Joe took them from him, and gone away with Clancy and the stranger, Joe turned to Tessie.
”You'd better go to bed, Tess. You must be all tired out!”
”She is!” Granny answered for her. ”We're all tired. I declare it does take it out of a body to have such wonderful things happen. Can you believe it, Joe? We had a nice dinner at the Waloo,” she said, following him into the house. ”And that Mr. Bill is a real pleasant young fellow.
My soul and body!” she exclaimed, staring around in amazement, for the house which she had left as neat as wax was now in disorder. Drawers had been pulled out and their contents dumped on the floor, closets emptied in a way that startled and angered Granny. ”Somebody's been here, Joe!
Somebody has been all over this house!” She stared at Joe. ”I expect they came to get that jewel of yours, Tessie,” she guessed loudly. ”That Tear of G.o.d! Thank goodness I didn't put it in the baking-powder can.
Thank goodness you got it in your pocket! Well, this is too much!”
”There, there, Granny!” soothed Joe. ”They didn't get anything. You trot up to bed, and Tess and I'll straighten things out.”
It took some time before Granny could be persuaded to leave them and more time before the drawers were pushed into place and doors shut on the disordered closets. Joe looked at Tessie. Her face was milk-white and her eyes were heavy and tired.
”Well, Tess!” He put his hands on her shoulders so that she would look into his face. ”What do you think about queens now? Are you still glad that you are such an old-fas.h.i.+oned, wornout thing as a queen?” He bent to peer into her eyes.
”I don't know,” she faltered. She put up her hands to clasp his strong fingers. ”It isn't what I thought it would be, if things like this are going to happen.”